Process of extracting vegetable fiber.



C. L. WEIBERG.

PROCESS 0F EXTRAGTING VBGETABLB FIBER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1910.

1,025,435. Patented may 7, 1912.

'ufl/PMAM a' wvemfow L I 131 Conmlzexg- (YW WY'. MIMI #Jod I www plant, tobacco plant, hemp, ax," okra, sea-- STATES/'PATENT OFFICE- `coNRnn- L. WEI'R ERG, or DETROIT, ivrIclHIGfAlv.I

PROCESS 0F XTRACTING- VEGETABLE FIBER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

l Patented May 7, 1912'.

Application filed August 1, 1910. Serial No. 4574,971.

To yall. whom it may concern: y l

Be it known that I, CONRAD L. WEIBnRG, a citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have'ihvented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Extracting Vegetable Fiber, of whichthe following is a specication, reft erence being had therein to the accompanying drawings. The invention relates to the extraction of ber from various plants such as the banana modifications, the general process of treatl ment is the same.

I will therefore, rst describe the broad process, :followin this with a description of some of the speci c applicatlons.

The drawings illustrate an apparatuswhich maybe employed in carryingl out the process and in which,

,Fi re 1 is a longitudinal section through the dlgester; Figs. 2 and 3 are cross sections therethrough respectively on line 2 2 and 34-3 Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is an end elevation.

. y bers themselves.V

In thepresent state of the art, ber is extracted from wood by the use of various re-agents, generally having an acid reaction.

My improved process differs from these,

rst, in that the treatment isfwith an alkaline re-agent, and -further that'gthe re-agent selected \is one which .while dissolv' the resinous substances which cement the bers, does not have a detrimental action on the The re-agent 'preferably employed is sodiumeroxid Na202.v Various substitutes may owever be employed, such as sodium-carbonate, bicarbonate, calcium bisulte, calcium suld, or` other like substances.

Another distinguishing feature of process is the emplo ment of a protecting substance for the ber during the digesting...

' quantity, as for instance, stocks', stems, etc., ofthe bananaplant, in

lengths 4 feet introduced into under like pressure as in process. For this l`a non-saponifying, nonvolatile oil, vsuch as a heavy mineral oil or more specically, paraln oilmay be used. The effect of the treatment is to saturate the .bers of the plant with-the oil during the digesting process, thereby preventing detrimental vaction of the chemical re-agent and by reason of the fact that the oil nonsaponifying, it will not itself be affected by the re-agent.

In general, the process' of treatment 'consists in placing the stocks, stems, etc., of the plant in a digester such as A by way of the y manholeV B- together with a solution composed of the sodium-peroxid or other similar reagent, and a non-saponifying oil. Thedigester is* thenx closed and the solution is boiled by suitable meanssuch as a steam jacket C, 'being also preferablyagitated as.

byy rotation. Afterseveral vhours oftreatment'the bers of the plant will become sparated and thematerial is then drawn 0 3 washed, and subjectedv to further purifying treatment acc'ordingto the specic' character of the product desired.

Y One specic application of my process is in the production of a textile ber from the stems and stocksof the banana vplant which I will now describe in detail. A nsuitable 4,000 pounds of the from 2- to the digester. The solution is formed by dissolvingO, pounds of sodium-p'eroxid in cold water which is introduced through the man,- hole, the 'solid material being about /three quarters immersed in fthe solution. To this is ladded l0 gallons lof heavy 'mineral oil,

suchas parain, specific gravity .895 .to .907,

after which the dlgester is closed and the solution boiled, preferably f or 2 hours and preferably ata pressure from 2 to 4 pounds above atmosphere,

At the period'ftli'e corrosive alkalis are pounds of potassium hydroxid', with'sucient water to make the specic gravity 1.0360. The mass is then cooked preferably -for 2- hours time and the previous treatbeing continuously agitated by the rotation-of the kettle. -end of this 'introduced lhydrate, and

loo

as follows l200- pounds of sodium ment, with the result that Vthe woodor plants A are transformed into long, silky ber. The liquld v1s then drawn of as through the -pipe E Into 'any suitable receptacleand allowed that employed in the treatment of of the tobacco plant.

to settle, after which the oil or clear liquid may be run off for use again inthe next batch, the sediment being reserved for other commercial purposes. In place of the sodium hydrate and potassium hydroxyid used in thesecond treatment,vsodium peroxidv may be employed, but as the latter is 'much more expensive material l preferably carry out the process as described.

After separation of the ber it is sub-- jected to a suitable washing and purifying process, being preferably washed once or twice byfsoft warm water and then treated.

Another specic application of my process lis the extraction of ber from the tobacco plant and other plants of4 similar nature. In this process the treatment is varied from textile bers, and the character of the product obtained is also different from that resulting from the previously described treatment.

The particular object of this specic embodiment of my invention is to obtain a material which may be used as a substitute for wood, hard rubber and like substances inthe construction of electrical insulators, wall covering and for pressed ornamental articles. Y v

It is a furtherobject to obtain valuable -by-products such as the nicotin and resinous fats contained in the stems and stalks In carrying out the stalksv of the plant are rst treated by placing them in a solution for the extraction of the nicotin and resinous fats withoutv the use of a non-saponifying oil.

complete disintegration of the ber. For this purpose I preferably employ sodium peroxi'd-Na202 as this material I have found has very little corrosive action upon the ber. I also preferably protect the ber as in the* process previously described by the More in detail of tobacco stalks and 4,000 pounds is placed the drawa suitable quantity stems as for instance ings and partially immersed in a solution preferably composed of 5 pounds of sodium peroxid dissolved in cold water, to4 this is added approximately 40 pounds of parailin orother noh-saponifying oil.. The digester is .then closed and the solution is then boiled for about 3 hours at a-pressure preferably from 3 to rpounds above atmosphere. Durpound composed of process, the4 stems and,

ing the boiling of the material it is kept in constant agitation by the rotation' of the digester as previously described. -At the completion of the period the solution is drawn off carrying with it the nicotin and resinous fats, and other extracts which may be separated by any of the usual and well known processes for this purpose. The stems and stalks which remain in the digester are subjected to a further treatment to complete the disintegration of the same and tosoften the ber so that it may be molded or pressed into the desired" form. For this purpose 1 preferably employ a comthe following ingredients: 100 pounds of borax, 11?; pounds of caustic soda (74%), 16 pounds of caustic potash (90%) and approximately 90 pounds ofwater or sufficient to make the specific gravity of the solution 1.1613. The solution is introduced into the digester and the ber is again boiled preferably for about 2 hours and until complete disintegration is eected. The solutioh is then drawn olf, the ber is washed and is subsequently molded into the desired form, preferably under hydraulic pressure. The product obtained is a' solid, tenacious, non-pliable substance of the electrical insulating character and may be rendered water proof or re proof by further treatment.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The process of separating vegetable ber, which consists in boiling the stems, stalks, etc., of the plant in a solution of alkaline peroxid, and in the presence of a non-saponifying oil.

2. The process of extracting vegetable ber, which consists in boiling the stems,` stalks, etc., Vof plants in a solution having alkaline reaction, and in the presence of a non-saponifying oil,I the initial treatment being with an alkaline peroxid, and a subsequent treatment with corrosive alkalis.

3. The process of separating vegetable ber, which consists in boiling the stalks, stems, etc., of plants in `a solution containing alkaline peroxid and a non-saponifying heavy oil `and Vthen introducing corrosive alkalis and boiling for a further period and in then drawing of the solution and washing the ber. y

4. The process of separating vegetable ber, which consists in boiling the stems, stalks, etc., of plants, in a solution of alkaline peroxid, and in the presence of a protective oil of a non-saponifying nature.-

5. The process of separating vegetable ber which consists in boiling the stalks, stems, etc., of the plant in a solution of alkaline peroxid.

6. The process of separating vegetable ber which consists in boiling the stems, stalks, etc., of the plant in a solution of sodium peroxid.

tion, then again cooking the mass for afur' ther period, drawing off the oil and other liquid and Washing.

8.- The process of treating stalks, stems, etc., of plants which consists in boiling in a solution containing sodium peroxid limited in strength to avoid complete separation of the ber but having an extractive action ony substances contained inthe wood, in removing the extract andreboiling in a stronger' solution to complete theseparation of they fiber.

. 9. The processy of treating stalks, stems,

etc., ofthe tobacco plant which consists in boiling the same in a solution containing sodium peroxid to 'extract the nicotin an resinous fats, in removing the extract and reboiling in a solution containing' corrosive alkalis and boraX. f

10. The process of treating the stems,

stalks, etc., ofthe tobacco plant which con-` lsists in boiling the same inl a solution containing sodium peroxid, in removing th'e ex-4 tract and reboiling in a solution Icontaining" vpotassium hydrate, sodium hydrate and borax to complete the separation of the liber.

11. The process of treating stalks, stems,

etc., ofplants which consists in boiling the same in a .solution com osed substantiall as follows: 100 pounds o borax, 1111 poun s caustiesoda, (74%), 16156 pounds of caustic potas'h ,(90%), and approximately 90 pounds of water or suicient to make the specific gravity of the solution 1.1613. v

In testimony whereof I atlix my signav ture' in presence of two witnesses.

' f CONRAD L.`WEI BERG. Witnesses:

W. J. BELKNAP, JAMES?. BARRY. 

